Calamity's Daughter
by ParisWriter
Summary: Chapter 9 Up! Sequel to Project V. Reno's life had been turned upside-down and inside-out with the death of the woman he loved. Now everything is about to change once more... and then change again. (Reno/OC, Rude/Tifa, Tseng/Elena, Vincent/Yuffie)
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Hello all, and welcome! As mentioned in the little summary, this is the sequel to one of my other stories, _Project V_. I highly suggest reading that one first, because otherwise you're going to be a bit lost when it comes to reading this. This story takes place just over one year after the events at the end of that story, so for those of you keeping track of the timeline, it's somewhere around late spring/early summer of 2001. And as far as I'm concerned, Dirge of Cerberus _never happened_. All you canon-whores can go munch on someone else's story, this one is pretty much AU after Advent Children.

Just a note that while Reno and Cera _are_ the central characters in this story, there are also a few others coming in to play rather heavily. Expect lots of mentions of Rude/Tifa, as well as some Tseng/Elena and Vincent/Yuffie (as these are my other favorite couples). Vincent himself will also play a vital role, as he is a vital part of Cera's life. Plus, we'll learn a bit of Rude's family background in this story (of course it's all entirely made up by me, but... you get the idea).

As always, I must point out that I own nothing of the canon. Square-Enix owns all that good stuff, and they've got the big bucks to show for it. This story idea, as well as any non-canon characters you read about from hereon in, _are_ mine, however, and are not to be used and/or duplicated without my permission. Got it? Good!

Now... Enjoy the story!

* * *

Chapter One

Gunshots echoed throughout the alleyway, punctuated by the staccato sound of two pairs of footsteps running away from the firing, splashing in the shallow puddles that remained from a rainstorm earlier in the day. The men stopped as soon as they felt they were at a safe enough distance from their pursuers, and the larger of the two pulled the empty ammo clip out of his own firearm, tossing it aside before retrieving another clip from the inside pocket of his suit jacket and siding it into place in the gun.

The two of them barely had enough time to catch their breath before bullets began flying in their direction once more, barely missing their heads. They dove in opposite directions, the large man ducking behind a dumpster while his partner slipped around the corner of the building across from him.

"Dammit, I'm out of ammo, yo!" the redhead yelled from his position behind the building, and the larger man groaned as he readied his gun to return fire.

"You mean to tell me you only packed one clip, Reno?"

Reno looked over his shoulder, peeking at his partner around the corner of the building, a defiant grin spreading across his face. Rude groaned again, rolling his eyes behind his dark sunglasses and shaking his head disapprovingly. Reno had _known_ there was likely to be gun play involved on this mission, and he had purposely "forgotten" to bring along spare ammo for his gun. Of course, the older Turk should have expected that much of his partner. More and more lately, Reno had been pushing things, putting his life closer and closer to the line. Unfortunately, his reckless behavior also possessed to possibility to impact whoever had been assigned to accompany him on his missions in the field – namely, Rude.

"Cover me."

Rude looked over at his partner and saw him crouched down low to the ground, EMR in hand, just waiting to pounce at the right moment. He had a predatory gleam in his eye, like he did whenever he was about to strike down an opponent, but Rude knew what that ruthlessness was hiding.

It seemed like only yesterday his young partner had lost the woman he loved, but in reality over a year had gone by since that tragic day changed his best friend forever. Sure, Reno still cracked jokes and made lewd comments, but the laughter never really fully carried into his eyes any more. Even his un-naturally bright red hair seemed a bit duller since Cera's death.

Her passing also caused Reno to fall back into his old ways. He'd go out each night after work, drinking until some ungodly hour, and either Rude would have to go pick him up or he'd end up crashing with whatever bimbo he happened to pick up at the bar that night. Rude _had_ noticed there was a change in that habit, though. Before, Reno always took the girls he met back to his place. Now, however, he always insisted on going home with them. He supposed it was because Reno had really loved Cera, and he didn't want to disrespect her memory by fucking some random girl in the same bed he'd made love to her in. In a way, it was almost romantic – for Reno.

"I'm going in," the redhead announced, and Rude shook his head.

"Reno, don't be an idiot. We're outnumbered here. Just get back to the car and call for backup."

"Like hell I will," Reno threw over his shoulder as he began making his way along the wall, keeping low to the ground so their assailants wouldn't notice him. They were hiding behind some barrels on either side of the alley, coming up every so often to set off a few rounds of ammo in their direction..

"Reno, get back here!" Rude called to him through clenched teeth, trying to keep his voice down in spite of his anger so their opponents wouldn't know what was going on. Groaning to himself, he leaned around the dumpster and fired off a couple of bullets, hitting one of their attackers squarely in the middle of his forehead and sending him sprawling backward to the wet ground. His hit was met with a renewed burst of fire, and he could feel the dumpster being pushed back against him with the force of all the bullets hitting it.

"We surrender, yo!" Rude heard his partner yelling over the raining of bullets. "Just quit firing!"

The gunshots tapered off, and Rude wondered just how stupid Reno had become in the past year. They had _guns_, for crying out loud, and all he had was his EMR. They simply needed to concentrate their fire on _him_ rather than the dumpster that was providing his cover, and his best friend would be reduced to a bloody human pincushion.

"If you're surrendering, then why'd you shoot one of our guys?" Rude heard one of the assailants shout back after a minute. The voice sounded young, and for the first time since the chase had begun he peaked around the side of the dumpster and actually took a good look at the gang that had been pursuing them. There were six total, five now breathing with the one he'd managed to hit. Judging by the body of the fallen member, they weren't any older than their later teens, early twenties, max. Which made them about the same age as Reno had been when he'd first been recruited for the Turks.

"Look, about that... I'm sorry," Reno was replying in his usual, smooth-talking manner. "My partner here's got an itchy trigger finger, and sometimes he's a lucky shot. If you wanna dust him after you've taken me hostage, feel free to do so."

"Reno," Rude growled, and the younger Turk looked back at him over his shoulder and winked. Rude knew that wink - and the smile he flashed briefly along with it - quite well. They were Reno's way of saying: _Trust me, I have a plan_. Huffing to himself, he decided to sit back and let things unfold, readying a fresh clip of bullets in his spare gun just in case things got even uglier.

"Look," Reno continued, returning his attention to the group of young thugs. "I'll even put down my weapon, okay?"

He stood up to his full height, holding his EMR up for all of them to see, and took a couple of small steps toward them. Rude watched with baited breath, waiting for them to gun his partner down, but no one fired. They merely kept their guns trained on him as he moved closer. Perhaps they were smarter than he gave them credit for and saw a ripe opportunity in kidnapping one of ShinRa's Turks. Of course, thinking that Rufus would willingly give in to any sort of demands in order to secure the safety of one of the Turks was, in itself, stupid. Rufus Shinra _never_ gave in to terrorist demands. So what if one of his Turks was killed? They were a replaceable commodity to him.

"We got a deal, yo?" Reno asked, taking one final step toward their pursuers before stopping.

"Get rid of your weapon first, then we'll see," one of the thugs yelled back. Rude assumed this one to be the leader by the authoritative tone of his voice.

Reno nodded and bent down, placing his EMR on the ground. Rude blinked when he saw him almost imperceptibly flip the switch into the on position with his thumb before he let it go, sending it rolling in the direction of the thugs. His eyes moved along the ground , following the path the weapon would take, and he finally saw what his partner had been up to all along – the thugs were standing in a small pool of water that stretched across the alley. Rude held his breath, hoping that the plan would work, and watched Reno back away slowly as the weapon rolled to a stop in the middle of the water.

The EMR flickered slightly, the water it was lying in reacting with its electrical components and causing it to short out. Blue waves of energy radiated from the weapon, traveling along the water like ripples from tossing a pebble into a lake, and the electric charge coursed through the puddle until it reached the thugs, then entered their bodies, causing them to convulse violently. Their guns began firing wildly as they lost control of their muscles, and Reno quickly ducked, throwing himself toward the wall and covering his head with his arms as he waited for the bullets to stop flying.

Once the firing had ceased, Rude eased his head around the side of the dumpster to survey the damage. Five more bodies had joined the one he'd taken out on the ground, and Reno was huddled against the wall across from him, arms held over his head as though they would really shield him from any oncoming bullets.

"You alive, partner?" he asked the redhead, who slowly lowered his arms as he nodded, then turned his head and grinned at him.

"Pretty cool, huh?" he asked proudly, getting to his feet and walking over to where the bodies were laying to retrieve his weapon.

"Pretty damn stupid, if you ask me," Rude replied as he stood up and holstered his guns, then began brushing off the dirt that had accumulated on his suit as he had been crouched down on the ground. "What the hell were you thinking, Reno? What if your plan hadn't worked?"

The redhead shrugged, still grinning. "Then I woulda winged it."

"And gotten both of us killed," Rude pointed out, his expression grim. "You know, you might have a death wish, but not everyone else does, too."

"Relax, yo... Everything went according to plan, so no harm done."

"Yeah," Rude said in a short, clipped tone. "And what if it hadn't? Would _you_ like to be the one to tell Tifa that something happened to me?"

Reno seemed to consider the question for a moment before wincing visibly at the thought of telling the young fighter that the man she loved had been hurt – and that it had been his fault. The mere idea of the ass-kicking she would have given him for that was enough to make him realize that Rude had a rather valid point. He wasn't just putting himself in danger now, more and more he was dragging his longtime partner into life-or-death situations with him. He supposed it was probably because – even though he wasn't sure what he had to live for any more – he still didn't really _want_ to die. Not just that, but he didn't want to die _alone_.

_Like Cera_, a voice said in the back of his head.

But Cera hadn't died alone... not really. She'd been surrounded by healers and surgeons and all sorts of medical personnel who were working to try to save her. That didn't matter, though. _He_ was the one person who _should_ have been there when she took her final breath. Like the doctors, he wouldn't have been able to save her, but at least she would have known he was there and that he cared about her.

"You're thinking about her again, aren't you?"

Reno turned to Rude, blinking rapidly as he refocused his train of thought on the alley they were standing in. He shrugged his shoulders as if to say he had no idea what his partner was talking about, then walked over to the puddle of water to retrieve his EMR, lifting it out of the water by the strap in case there was any juice left in it.

"You had that look, Reno," he heard Rude saying as he came up behind him. "That wistful, 'I wish there was more I could have done' look you _always_ get when you're thinking about her."

"So?" Reno asked, shaking the water off his weapon and covering his hand with the sleeve of his jacket before turning the switch into the off position.

"It's not healthy," Rude told him, resting a gloved hand on his shoulder. "You're going to end up driving yourself mad if you can't let go. Or worse, you'll end up acting like Cloud."

Reno couldn't stop himself from laughing at that comment. Everyone who knew Cloud knew that he was still a bit hung-up over the death of Aeris, even though that had been over three years ago. Sure, there had been a brief period after Sephiroth's second coming where he _seemed_ to have gotten over it, but somehow he managed to slip back into his old, self-deprecating ways. Unfortunately, as Tifa's boyfriend, Rude was treated to a larger dose of this behavior than most people.

"Letting go sounds a lot easier to do than it really is, man," he replied without looking at his partner, placing his still-damp EMR back in its special holster under his jacket. "Imagine if you lost Tifa, how you'd feel... Imagine that, _then_ tell me I should 'let go'."

He turned to look at Rude, holding his shaded gaze for a long time until the other man finally looked away with a sigh. He knew Reno had a point. Losing someone you truly loved wasn't something you easily got over. However, if he didn't get over it, one or both of them were likely to end up dead.

"Look, you mind going back to HQ on your own?" Reno asked. "I got something I need to do, yo."

"Like what?" Rude asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Something personal," he replied, hoping that his best friend would realize it wasn't up for discussion and just drop the subject. "I promise I'll call up a clean-up crew and wait for them to arrive before I head out."

Rude seemed to consider his offer for a moment before reaching a decision. If he went back alone, Tseng would demand to know Reno's whereabouts. Rude had a fairly good idea what the redhead was up to, and he also knew that their boss would not be pleased that he was doing such things on company time. However, there was a slim chance that the leader of the Turks might also think Reno was merely taking some personal time to visit Cera's grave – something he did almost religiously around this time of month. Deciding to take a gamble, he slowly nodded his head in agreement, earning himself a grin from his young partner.

"Thanks, man. I owe ya one!"

Reno slapped Rude on the back and jogged back to where they had parked their company car, retrieving his phone from the glove box and calling up the clean-up crew, just as he'd promised he would. Rude shook his head and silently followed him, wondering how many more missions like this it would take to get them both killed.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: What a month it's been! First, I was placed on dialysis and had to spend four days in the hospital for surgery. Then, I fell ill and ended up spending another two weeks in the hospital almost immediately after that. Now I've got a brand-spakin'-new laptop, and I'm ready to go! My apologies to everyone who has been waiting for this chapter. I sincerely thank you for your patience.

* * *

Chapter Two

Rude pulled open the door of the bar, stepping aside to allow a young couple to exit before entering the establishment and standing just inside the door. He reached up with both hands and straightened the lapels of his jacket, scanning the crowd with his shaded eyes as he searched for the person he had come for. Spotting his quarry, he walked over to the bar and took a seat at the end farthest from the wall.

Watching the person he'd come to see out of the corner of his eye – observing their every move – he waved over the girl waiting on customers at the bar so that he could order a drink to help him pass the time.

"What'll it be?" the cheerful ninja asked, pencil poised over a pad of paper as she bounced slightly on the balls of her feet.

"Just a beer, Yuffie," Rude told her, reaching up to loosen his tie a bit. The perky young woman nodded and moved toward the center of the bar to pour his drink.

"Are you here to see Tifa?" she asked as she noticed his eyes constantly flickering to the buxom brunette. His head turned fully in her direction and she saw the faintest trace of a blush on his dark cheeks. She smiled at his reaction. He and Tifa had been dating for over a year, and both of them were still rather shy and reluctant to talk about it.

Of course, she knew part of the reason had to be Cloud's rather vocal protestations against them being together. At least once a week, he would corner Tifa and lecture her about being romantically involved with someone like Rude – someone with a shady past who did ShinRa's dirty work for a living. Tifa would defend Rude, and when Cloud finally gave up she would call her best friend, Yuffie, and cry to her over the phone about how unfair he was being. Rude wasn't a bad person, she would say... and Yuffie believed it. All of the times she had seen the two of them together, he had always been extremely sweet and attentive to Tifa.

Sighing to herself, she carried the foaming drink over to Rude and placed it before him, a playful grin spreading across her lips.

"There you are, _Rudolpho_," she said as he took his first sip, causing him to promptly spit the alcohol back out over the top of the bar. He raised a gloved hand and wiped his mouth, glaring at her from behind his glasses.

"What did you just call me?" he asked, his voice somewhat threatening in its tone despite the fact that he was speaking quietly.

"Rudolpho," Yuffie repeated, still grinning. "That _is_ your name, isn't it? Rudolpho Martinez."

Rude ground his teeth, his mouth set in a firm line. Only one other person knew his real name, and he had told her what it was in strict confidence. If he had known she was going to tell all her friends what his given name was, he never would have divulged the information in the first place.

"Hey, sweetie," Tifa greeted him as she came up behind him, wrapping an arm around his chest and kissing the top of his bald head. "I wasn't expecting you before closing tonight."

Rude turned to her, still fuming, but the sight of her smiling at him caused his anger to quickly fade. He felt himself smiling a bit and he reached out to brush some of her dark brown hair back from her forehead with one hand before leaning close and placing a small kiss on her lips.

"What was that for?" she asked when he backed away.

"Just for being your usual, beautiful self," he replied, and he was rewarded with the appearance of a blush across her pale cheeks. She shook her head in an embarrassed fashion, causing her hair to fall across her face in a dark curtain, and Rude smiled even more at her shyness. It was just one of the things he loved about her. He slid his arm around her waist and pulled her closer until she was standing next to his barstool, leaning up slightly to whisper in her ear.

"You told Yuffie my name."

Tifa pulled back, blinking a few times in brief confusion. How the conversation had moved from him telling her she was beautiful to him accusing her – although rightly so – of giving away one of his secrets, she had no idea.

"Yes, I did," she admitted meekly, stroking the side of his face with one hand. "Please don't be mad at me, Rude. She's my best friend. We have no secrets."

Rude closed his eyes and nodded his head, sighing contentedly under her caress. He knew he couldn't stay mad at her, even if she wasn't touching him the way she was. He loved her, and nothing she ever did – aside from cheating on him – could make him feel any differently about her.

"How was work?" Tifa asked as she handed her tray over the bar to Yuffie so the ninja could fill it with the next round of orders.

Rude sighed. "Reno almost got us killed--"

"Again?" Yuffie interrupted, then bit her tongue as Rude turned to look at her briefly before returning his attention to Tifa.

"As I was saying... Reno almost got us killed, then brushed it off like he usually does."

"He's still grieving, Rude," Tifa told him, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"He's had plenty of time to grieve," Rude remarked, growling slightly. "He needs to get his act together before someone really _does_ end up getting killed."

Tifa sighed and kissed his cheek. "Everything will work out," she assured him. "You'll see."

"I'm glad _you_ can be so confident about that. Tseng is about ready to take him out of the field for good. If he wants to risk his own life, that's one thing, but he's putting the lives of others in danger, too."

Tifa let out another sigh as Yuffie handed her tray back to her, now full of drinks for the patrons of the bar.

"Just don't worry about him, Rude. He's a big boy. I'm sure he can take care of himself."

**

* * *

**

Reno groaned as he opened one blue eye and looked around the dark room. It took a while for his sight to adjust to the lack of light, but soon things started to gradually come into focus. The surroundings were completely foreign to him – which really wasn't much of a surprise at all – but a clock across from the bed he was lying in told him it was just past three in the morning. He carefully rolled over from his stomach onto his back, moving slowly so as not to awaken his companion in the bed. Even without looking, he knew he wasn't alone. He never woke up in a strange bed in the middle of the night alone.

Th girl next to him was young, no more than a teenager, with shoulder-length blonde hair and well-tanned skin. She was asleep, but even so he could tell her eyes would be blue once she opened them. It was the same as every other girl he'd been with since Cera. They were always petite and tanned, with blonde hair and blue eyes – the opposite of Cera in every way.

The only exception to this new pattern had been Elena. The two of them had spent one night together in the midst of their own, personal moments of weakness. Reno had still been getting over the shock of losing Cera, and Elena had been dealing with the fact that no matter what she did, Tseng didn't seem to take any notice of her. They had both been vulnerable and felt alone, and had ended up seeking solace in one another one drunken night. Things had been a bit awkward between them for a while after that, but they managed to put their indiscretion behind them and move on.

Moving with the stealthiness that came naturally with his years of being a Turk, Reno got out of the bed and began searching in the dark for his clothes. He located the majority of them on the floor by the door, then spent several minutes combing the floor in search of his underwear before finally finding the missing garment near the bed alongside an empty condom wrapper.

That was one thing he had to give himself credit for, he thought as he quickly dressed. No matter how drunk he was when he went home with whatever random girl he picked up, he always remembered to use protection. Of course, maybe he was giving himself too much credit. Perhaps it was the girls who insisted on him using protection. Either way, it was a blessing that over the years he'd never strayed from that one habit.

_But that's not true_, a voice in the back of his head reminded him. _You did stray... that night with Cera._

Reno shook his head to clear away the memories of that night before they could become too vivid and cause him to break down in tears in the middle of the bedroom of some girl whose name he didn't even know. The one-year anniversary of Cera's death had just passed, and he had been feeling particularly melancholy in the recent weeks.

Perhaps that was why he had been so reckless in that alleyway with Rude: Despite the time that had passed, the pain was still fresh in his memory. He knew it wasn't fair for him to be putting his best friend in danger like that, but whenever they got in a situation like the one they had been in that afternoon, it seemed like his brain shifted into self-destruct mode and nothing else mattered but putting himself on the line. Unfortunately, he had a feeling that Tseng was beginning to tire of his antics and was probably on the verge of removing him from active field duty. If that happened, he would give his boss one week before he tired of hearing him bemoan his misfortunes and put him back out there in hopes that someone would put him out of his misery.

The girl in the bed began to stir as Reno dressed, and he quickly slipped out of the bedroom with only his pants and underwear on, choosing to hide in a nearby bathroom in hopes that she would simply roll over and go back to sleep, or in the very least not cause a big scene when she realized he was gone. Most of the girls he slept with understood that they were just a distraction and that they shouldn't expect him to be there in the morning, but he occasionally got one of those crazies who thought sex – even in the form of a one-night stand – meant some sort of a relationship.

Reno hurriedly finished dressing in the small bathroom, then silently opened the door and made his way through the dark apartment, taking his time so he didn't bump into anything and wake the girl. Once he was standing out in the hallway, he sighed heavily and trudged to the stairwell, taking the stairs down to the ground floor and exiting the building to find himself in a part of town he knew well. There were several bars in the general vicinity, and he often went to one of them on his way home from work – especially on a bad day.

Whistling to himself, he set off in the direction of his own apartment, hands in his pockets and head lowered so he would seem as innocuous as any other drunk wandering the streets at three a.m. Of course, a part of him hoped he _would_ get jumped by someone. At least in his current situation he wouldn't have to worry about Rude getting caught in the crossfire, and Tseng wouldn't be able to get pissed at him for potentially jeopardizing a mission because he was feeling a bit suicidal.

Some movement off to his left caught his eye and he turned his head slightly to see a flash of white cloth disappearing into the shadows of a nearby alley. Reno blinked his eyes and shook his head. He knew his mind had to be playing tricks on him. Sure, Cera had always worn a white dress, but there was no possible way she could be in some alley watching him. Not anymore. It was probably just some homeless person debating whether it was worth risking their lives to ask him for some spare change. He was a Turk, after all, and despite Rufus' every effort to turn around their reputation, the public still held their own preconceived notions about them. But he had also been homeless once, as a child, and he understood the hardships the people living day to day in the slums were going through.

Reno continued staring into the darkness of the alley, willing his eyes to adjust or the person he had seen to come forward into the light of the street lamp, but neither one happened. After a moment, he gave up and reached into his back pocket, extracting his wallet. He looked through it to see how much cash he had on hand then removed a few bills, stepping forward and placing them just on the other side of the darkness. Then he placed his wallet back in his pocket and continued on his way home.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Alrighty... I have a question for you, my dears readers. First, though, a little info:

A friend and I, being the Final Fantasy VII-obsessed people that we are, one day last year came up with all the kids the respective pairings we write for would likely end up with in the future. Then, she made a LiveJournal community where we could post stories about said children, either in their younger days or during _their_ "present," which would have most of them as teenagers (the latter is actually the time frame where the majority of the stories take place).

Anyhow, the problem is: I've been working on a story based in this "next generation" scope, involving the romance between Reno and Cera's oldest daughter and Tseng and Elena's oldest son. Pretty much all the main canon characters are going to make an appearance in this story (except for Cloud and possibly Cid & Shera, since I don't think their son has a very big part in it at all). And, of course, the Turks play a big part in it, as Tseng's son is currently undergoing training to become a Turk in the story. My dilemma is that I'm not sure if I should bother posting said story here or not, and that's where you all come in. Let me know (either somewhere in your review or via a personal message sent through my profile) if you would be interested in reading something like this. If I get enough people telling me yes, they're interested, I'll post it. If not, it'll still be on my LJ account.

Whew... that was a bit long-winded, wasn't it? Okay, enough of my rambling. On with the story!

* * *

Chapter Three

Rufus Shinra sighed deeply as he looked over the latest reports from the Investigative Division of the General Affairs Department, dismayed by Reno's apparent disregard for the safety of his own partner. Tseng had been warning him for months now that the redhead was becoming increasingly reckless in his behavior, but the young president had chosen to ignore it. Part of the reason he let Reno remain on active duty for as long as he had was because he felt marginally guilty for his current state of mind. After all, he had been the one to deliver the news of Cera's death to the Turk and that was ultimately the reason he had become nearly suicidal in his actions on the missions he was sent as of late.

Something had to be done, though. He could only turn his head away from the situation for so long, and the report from the previous day's mission had raised more red flags than usual. Reno had disobeyed a direct order from Rude and taken things into his own hands, putting both of their lives in danger. Granted, Reno _was_ Rude's superior officer, but Rufus had given the bald Turk the lead on that mission, and thus he had expected Reno to follow the other man's orders without question. Not only did he disobey a direct order in the field, he also failed to return to headquarters at the completion of the mission in order to give his report – not an unusual disregard for protocol by any means, in Reno's case, but still another reason Tseng had more or less decided to cut Reno from field assignments completely.

It had taken Rufus' own intervention to convince Tseng to merely suspend Reno for a few weeks. Hopefully, the time off would give him an opportunity to straighten himself out. It wasn't going to be an easy task, however, and Rufus knew that it was going to take some drastic measures – and a bit of persuasion – to ensure he didn't end up losing one of his best men.

Running a hand back through his dark blonde hair, he reached over and picked up the phone, dialing a number from memory and waiting patiently for someone to answer on the other end of the line.

"It's me," he said once the call had been answered. "We need to talk about Reno."

He listened to the speaker on the other end of the line protest, closing his eyes as a small smile appeared on his lips. He had expected this very reaction.

"Listen, he is getting out of control. I fear that if he keeps acting out in such a manner, he will end up dead... and we wouldn't want that, would we?"

The person on the other end of the line didn't speak for a long while, then quietly agreed with his sentiment. They then began questioning what the president expected them to do, causing him to laugh good-naturedly.

"I think you should go talk to him. I know you've been reluctant to approach him, but perhaps that is all he really needs in order to overcome this rebellious, self-destructive streak he's on."

Rufus patiently listened as the recipient of his call began to protest, then, to his surprise, they agreed to pay the Turk a visit. The young president thanked them, then hung up his phone as a satisfied sigh escaped his lips. A moment later he called Tseng and informed him he may want to rethink his removal of Reno from field work on a permanent basis.

* * *

Reno leaned back in his chair, feet propped on his desk, and tossed a crumpled ball of paper back and forth in his hands as he watched the clock above Rude's head slowly ticking away the minutes. The two of them had been banned from the field for two weeks thanks to his "little stunt" he had pulled with the punks in the alleyway, and even though they were only four days into their sentence, he was already getting antsy.

"Tseng's a fucking ass, yo," he complained, tossing his ball into Rude's wastebasket before picking up another sheet of paper off his desk and crumpling it up.

"You're lucky you're not _permanently _suspended, Reno," his partner informed him, looking at him briefly over the tops of his dark glasses before returning his attention to the magazine he had been reading. "And stop acting like you're the only one who got punished."

"Yeah, why _did_ you get suspended, anyway?" the redhead asked, making another basket and grinning smugly as he grabbed another sheet of paper and waded it up methodically.

"It was _my_ mission," Rude explained calmly. "I was in charge, and I failed to keep you under control in the field and make sure you came back to headquarters with me. Therefore, Tseng decided I should serve the same punishment as you."

"Harsh, man," Reno replied, shaking his head sympathetically. "Real harsh."

"If you ask me, I think he was just taking it out on Rude because President Rufus won't let him get rid of your sorry ass."

Reno spun around in his chair and grinned at the blonde woman standing in the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Hey, Laney! Come to keep the captives company?"

"Not really," Elena replied, dropping her hands to her sides and walking over to Reno's desk. He turned in his chair as she moved until he was once more facing the back wall of the office and tossed his ball into Rude's wastebasket. Elena did a double-take when she saw how their desks were arranged, pointing from Rude's position across from the doorway to the empty area across from Reno's desk.

"Didn't you used to be over there?" she asked the bald man, and he sighed in reply.

"We got bored and decided to rearrange things a bit," Reno informed her, tossing his newest ball of paper up in the air and catching it.

"No," Rude corrected him, "_you_ got bored and thought it would be fun to rearrange the furniture. But you got tired of that idea after moving my desk here. Remember?"

Reno shrugged. "Same thing, yo."

Rude let out another exasperated sigh. "You better move my desk _back_ by tomorrow, Reno."

"Or what?" the redhead asked, smiling cheekily. "You'll sic your girlfriend on me?"

"I don't think I need to _give_ her another reason to want to kick your ass," Rude shot back, grinning as well.

"What?" Reno asked, throwing up his hands and feigning innocence. "I didn't do anything!"

"Except you made a perverted comment about her breasts," Rude reminded him.

"Aww, c'mon, man... That was _weeks_ ago! You can't tell me she's still hung up on that, yo."

Rude glared at his partner briefly before returning his attention to their visitor. "So, what brings you here, Elena?"

"Actually, I'm here to see Reno," the female Turk replied with a sigh, turning to look at the man in question. Reno grinned and puffed out his chest, pointing to himself as he turned his attention to her.

"By the way," he commented in Rude's direction, "Tifa should have taken that remark for what it was meant as – a _compliment_."

"I hardly believe any comment _you_ would have made about a woman's breasts would ever be seriously taken as a compliment, Reno," Elena informed him, earning her a chuckle from Rude. "But that's besides the point. I hear Tseng's pretty pissed at you right now."

"Old news, Laney," Reno remarked, leaning back and balancing his paper ball on his forehead.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Elena asked him, a bit hesitantly.

"Talk about what? The fact that Tseng's ready to permanently ban my ass from active duty?"

"No, about the reason you feel it's necessary to nearly get yourself killed every time you go out on assignment," Elena said, her voice full of concern. "Honestly, Reno... I'm worried about you. We all are."

Reno cast a disbelieving glance in her direction. "Yeah, I'm sure the president would be _real_ broken up if I got iced, yo. And Tseng, he'd be in mourning for weeks, missing everything I used to do that drove him nuts."

"Tseng really _does_ worry about you, Reno," she assured him. "Why do you think he's been trying to take you out of the field for months? He doesn't want to take the risk of something happening to you."

"And you know this how?" Reno questioned her. "He tell you one night when you were all cuddly in bed after gettin' down and dirty?"

"Reno!" Elena spat, her cheeks burning bright red. "You know damn well Tseng and I don't have that sort of relationship."

"You should," Reno argued, turning to Rude for confirmation. "Am I right?"

Rude was staring straight ahead as he sat behind his desk, his mouth hanging open slightly. Reno tilted his head in curiosity as he considered his partner's expression, then turned and looked over his shoulder, following the other man's gaze.

Cera was standing there, just outside the doorway.

Reno suddenly sat up straight in his chair, his feet falling to the floor with a loud thump as his own mouth dropped open in disbelief. Surely, it had to be some trick of his imagination. Of course, if it was, then Rude wouldn't be able to see it, too. He watched her as she slowly entered the room, her eyes fixed on him, then stood and moved around the side of his desk to stand by Elena in the center of the room.

She looked exactly like he remembered: long, dark hair falling in soft waves about her shoulders, soft brown eyes, perfect, fair skin, delicate lips. She was wearing a different dress than the one Rufus had given her before, but the one she had on was still white and nearly swept the floor as she moved toward him. She looked like an angel, and if not for the surprised looks of his co-workers, he might have believed her to be one.

He took a few steps closer to her, stopping when they were barely an arm's length apart, and simply stared at her. He had no idea how it was even possible that she could be in the very same room as him. Rufus had told him to his face that she had died over a year ago, and he had been serious about it. At least, Reno had believed him to be serious. Now, however, he wasn't so sure what to believe. Either she had made a miraculous recovery and somehow come back from beyond the grave, or Rufus had lied to him. Either way, it didn't really matter. She was here now. But a part of him was afraid to touch her. He was afraid that it was just a dream and if he reached out to her, he would wake up.

She smiled at him, tears shining in her eyes, and moved a bit closer, reaching up with one hand and tracing the tattoo on his right cheek with her fingertips. He closed his eyes, drawing in a shaky breath as he recalled the first time she had ever made that gesture – and the way they had almost kissed afterwards. Opening his eyes, he reached out for her and pulled her into his arms, his lips easily finding hers. He kissed her the way he had wanted to ever since she had been taken from him, holding her tightly for fear that if he let go she would be gone again. When they finally parted, Reno saw the tears had managed to make their way down her cheeks. He reached up to wipe them away and felt his own tears of joy threatening to fall.

"Hi," she whispered, voice choked with emotion, and Reno couldn't help but chuckle. All this time apart, and all she could think of to say was hi?

"Hey, babe," he replied, stroking her hair and kissing her again. He still didn't know how she had gotten there, but he was past the point of caring. She was back, and that was all that mattered to him.

Across the room, Rude and Elena watched the entire scene unfold and exchanged confused glances. Rufus had never once indicated that there might be a chance Cera was still alive, but suddenly, little things began to make more sense: the reason he hadn't been able to meet Reno's eyes when he told him Cera had died, his insistence on a closed-casket funeral and no media attention at the services, the renewed activity in the laboratories housed in the basement at headquarters. They both knew Reno was probably far too elated with having Cera back to figure it out for himself at the moment, and they both prayed for their employer's safety once he finally did.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Wow! Thanks to all the people who reviewed on the last chapter! You guys make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Care for a repeat performance? lol

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Chapter Four

Cera was perched on the end of the bed, hands folded neatly in her lap, and watched Reno carefully as he sat across from her in the chair he'd pulled over from the table by the window. The two of them had retreated to her old suite on the fourth floor after their reunion was interrupted by Tseng, who demanded that they take their "frivolous display of hormones" elsewhere – although she had seen him grinning out of the corner of her eye as they left the office.

Once they had reached the suite, Cera had insisted on putting their affections on hold so that she could set the record straight with him. She told him everything: that she had never died in the first place, that Rufus had kept her in one of the laboratories in the basement for the past year, and that she only just recently woke up from the coma the researchers had put her in. Reno had quietly listened, his jaw tightening more with each revelation, and now he simply sat there, staring at her. A part of her wanted to reach out to him and hold him, but the look of fury in his eyes made her keep still.

She sat there and continued watching him as time ticked by almost endlessly, the only sounds in the room being their breathing and the occasional rustle of cloth as she shifted her position on the bed. His blue eyes barely even blinked as the minutes stretched on, and if she didn't know better she might have thought him a statue rather than a real person. Eventually, his hand twitched almost imperceptibly, and she let out a sigh at the small sign of life.

"Reno, say something," she requested, her voice holding a note of desperation. "Please."

"I'm going to fucking kill him," Reno growled before standing up from his chair. He began pacing back and forth in front of her, hands clenched at his sides. She watched him for several minutes, waiting for him to say something else, then opened her mouth to speak when he suddenly slammed one of his fists into his open palm, causing her to jump in surprise.

"He knew?" he asked, turning to her and pointing an accusing finger. "Rufus fucking _knew_ you were alive, all this time?"

"Yes," Cera replied calmly, her voice only wavering slightly. She knew Reno had a temper, which was why she insisted on telling him herself about the deception. If Rufus had been the one to tell him, the redhead would have strangled the young president then and there with his bare hands.

"Son of a fucking bitch!" Reno yelled as he resumed his pacing. "I should have know. I should have fucking know he would pull this shit."

"Reno, calm down," she pleaded.

"_Calm down_?" he repeated incredulously, turning on her. "Cera, he told me you were _dead_. I've been mourning you for the past _year_. I've almost gotten myself _killed_ – on more than one occasion – because that asshole _lied_ to me!"

"He had his reasons," Cera told him, standing up from the bed. "Reno, think about it: I was out of control. No one knew how to stop me."

"Vincent stopped you," he pointed out.

Cera shook her head. "It was only a temporary fix. Rufus couldn't risk letting me walk around freely out there when he knew I could possibly snap again at any minute. He _had_ to keep me in captivity."

"Listen to yourself," Reno said disgustedly. "You're talking like you're nothing more than some sort of fucking lab animal."

Cera closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly in order to calm herself down before she continued speaking.

"I'm sorry you got hurt, Reno. But I _do_ understand why Rufus did what he did, and I can't hold it against him. Not when I think about what I almost did to you."

"Yeah, well, speak for yourself."

Cera opened her eyes and looked up to find him already halfway to the door. Thinking fast, she rushed to the bedside table and grabbed something from the top drawer, then ran after him. Luckily, he was waiting for the elevator when she caught up to him. She walked over to where he was standing and took one of his hands in hers, holding it palm-up and depositing a few neatly-folded bills in it.

Reno blinked and stared at the money in his hand for a long while, wondering why she was giving it to him. Then it finally registered. He looked from the money to Cera and found her staring at the floor, chewing on her thumbnail.

"This is the money I left in that alley, isn't it?" he asked her quietly, and she nodded in reply. "So it _was_ you I saw that night?"

Cera nodded again and looked at him. "Yes."

"That was _four_ nights ago, Cera. How long have you been conscious?"

"A week tomorrow," she admitted meekly.

"And you waited _this_ long to come back to me?" he questioned her, his hand closing into a fist and crushing the almost pristine bills. "I thought you said you loved me."

"I _do_ love you!" Cera cried, tears springing to her eyes. "That's why I've been avoiding you."

"That makes _no_ fucking sense," Reno shot back, his anger quickly returning. "If you really loved me, you would have been back at my side the very day you woke up."

Cera shook her head, trying her best not to break down in the middle of the hallway, but he was making it hard for her. She honestly hadn't expected him to understand, but she had at least hoped he would have asked for an explanation before he went assuming things.

"I love you, Reno," she told him, her bottom lip trembling.

"No, you don't," he replied bitterly.

"Yes, I do!" she insisted, letting her guard down and allowing the tears to fall. "I didn't run right to you because Rufus told me how much pain you went through when you thought I died. I didn't want to give myself back to you knowing you might have to endure losing me again because I knew that would just completely _destroy_ you. And so help me, but right now I wish I had never taken his fucking advice and gone to your office today."

Cera turned away from him and went back to the suite, closing the door behind her, leaving Reno to stare after her. The elevator arrived behind him with a ding, but he made no move to board it. Instead, he went back down the hall and knocked on the door of her suite. When she didn't answer, he tried the door and – discovering it was unlocked – let himself in.

The sound of sobbing reached his ears, coming from the bedroom, and his anger faded into self-loathing. He'd been pissed at Rufus and taken it out on her. Tossing the money in his hand on a nearby table, he made his way into the bedroom and walked over to her, pulling her into his arms and kissing the top of her head as she continued crying against his chest.

"I tried to tell you," she managed to say between sobs. "So many times. I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't do it. I was too scared."

"It's okay, babe," he assured her, stroking her back soothingly. "I know it must have been hard for you. I'm sorry I lost my temper, yo."

Her crying started to taper off, and Reno found his mind wandering. If she had been following him around for almost a week, then that meant she probably saw him earlier that same night, when he went to that bar and got drunk and went home with that girl. He winced, thinking of all the women he'd slept with in the past year, and leaned back slightly, reaching under her chin to tilt her head up so he could look her in the eyes.

"There's something I need you to know, babe, and I ain't proud about it."

"About the girl that night?" she asked, reaching up to wipe the tears from her face as she nodded her head. "I know."

"She wasn't the only one, yo," he informed her. Surprisingly, she merely shrugged her shoulders. Reno cocked his head to one side as he regarded her reaction, his face etched with confusion.

"You thought I was dead," she said with a light chuckle. "I can't exactly expect you to go celibate just because I stop breathing. Yeah, it hurts a little, but I can't hold it against you."

Reno let a small, relieved small cross his lips as he kissed her briefly and pulled her back into his arms, holding her tightly. She sighed contentedly, nuzzling his neck, and he briefly wondered if Rufus still had surveillance cameras in the mirrors. Deciding not to risk it, he pulled away from her and smoothed his hand back over her hair, memorizing the silky feel of it just in case this was all just some sort of delusion that would eventually break.

"Y'know," he told her, "Even before I knew you were still alive, sleeping with those girls just didn't feel right."

"How so?" she asked, one of her hands reaching up to play with his messy red locks.

"I dunno," he replied with a shrug. "I guess I just felt like I was betraying you, yo. And it bugged the hell out of me, because I couldn't understand why the hell I felt like that."

Cera gave him a teasing smile, "Maybe you have some sort of sixth sense and just _knew_ I wasn't really dead."

"Maybe," Reno agreed, then kissed her temple and gently removed her arms from around him. "I do know one thing, though."

"What's that?" she asked, looking disappointed as he began backing away from her.

"There's still too many fucking questions, yo," he said, holding out a hand to her. She reached out and took it and he pulled her along with him back through the suite and out into the hall, steering them in the direction of the elevator.

"Where are we going, Reno?" she asked, although she was almost sure she knew where he was taking her.

"We're going to see Rufus," he informed her. "And that queer-ass bastard better have some answers."

**

* * *

**

Rufus sat behind his well-polished desk, flipping through the monthly expense reports and frowning slightly at the amount of resources being used by the research department. Thankfully, now that Cera had been cured of that annoying Chaos problem, he could cut back on the funding granted to the department and concentrate on more important aspects of the company. The lead researcher had taken a leave of absence, anyway, so it wasn't as though he had to worry about her complaining about the lack of funds being granted for her work.

Sighing softly, he set aside the report and stretched his arms over his head. It had certainly been a long day, but also a productive one. Back-to-back meetings with the defense committee and the WRO had given him great assurances that the planet was both safe and being restored to its former glory. The only problem that his defense administrator had noticed in the recent weeks was that a number of reports had been made by parents whose children had gone missing. Rufus had dismissed the concern at first, rationalizing that the children had most likely run away and would be back in a week or two. The more he thought about it, however, the stranger the circumstances seemed. After all, the last time multiple children were reported missing they had been taken by the remnants of Sephiroth as part of their plan to find Jenova's remains. The stigma had long since been wiped out, but perhaps these newer disappearances were worth investigating.

He made a mental note to send Tseng and Elena on a scouting mission to attempt to find out who was taking the children and where they were being brought to, knowing that Reno would likely be too preoccupied with Cera to effectively carry out any sort of directive that required any amount of patience. Tseng had informed him of the lovers' reunion, and he briefly considered cutting the redhead's punishment short, then thought against it when he realized which brain Reno would likely be using if he were to be sent on a mission so soon after having Cera back in his life. Honestly, though, he was happy for them. Especially since he knew that Reno would be back to top form after a few days.

"Wait! You can't go in there!" Rufus heard his secretary yell just before the doors to his office flew open and Reno strutted in with Cera on his heels. She gave the president an apologetic smile and he waved off her concern as he leaned back in his chair and folded his hands neatly in his lap.

"Reno," he addressed the other man calmly. "I can't say I'm at all surprised to see you here. I take it Cera filled you in on everything?"

"Not exactly," the Turk replied, placing his hands on his employer's desk and leaning over it with his blue eyes narrowed. "I still have a few questions, yo."

"Ask away," Rufus encouraged him with a smile.

"When did you find out Cera was still alive?"

"She never died, Reno," Rufus replied, echoing what Cera had told him. Reno shook his head in disagreement.

"No, she _did_ die," he insisted. "That's why you couldn't look at me when you told me. If she had really been alive and you were just lying about her being dead, you would have looked me right in the eye when you said it."

"That's preposterous, Reno. I couldn't look you in the eye because you would have known I was lying."

"Bullshit," Reno spat. "I've worked for you long enough to know your quirks, Rufus. Your glance _never_ wavers from someone when you're lying to them, and you never show it in your eyes. You're the coldest, most calculating son-of-a-bitch on the planet, yo. Emotions don't exactly suit you."

"Very well," Rufus conceded with a sigh. "I found out about five minutes after you left."

"Wait," Cera interrupted, stepping forward to stand next to Reno in front of the desk. "So I actually _did_ die?"

"Yes, you did," Rufus told her. "Your heart gave out and your breathing stopped. They even called your time of death. But then, suddenly, you were breathing again."

"So how did I manage to... come back?" she asked, pausing momentarily to search for the appropriate phrasing.

"Let me ask the questions here, babe," Reno insisted before turning his attention to the president once more. "How could she still be alive if she died? You sure your doctors didn't do anything to her?"

"No," Rufus answered, shaking his head. "They were on strict orders not to alter her in any way under those condition."

"_Under those conditions_?" Reno repeated, his voice rising with anger. "So she _was_ altered, then?"

"Once she was stable and moved to our facilities here, yes," Rufus admitted. Reno looked over at Cera to see her staring at Rufus with a shocked expression on her face. Apparently, he hadn't told her _that_ little part of what had happened.

"What sort of alterations?" Reno asked without turning to look at his employer. Cera glanced in his direction and he gave her a reassuring smile, which she returned a bit unsurely.

"Well, we had to do something to control the remnant of the demon inside of her," Rufus explained. "Based on what we already knew, thanks to Vincent, we were able to cone up with a solution."

"So..." Reno prompted, turning to look at him once more. "What did you do to her, exactly?"

"_I _did nothing," the other man replied calmly.

"You know what I fucking mean," Reno growled. "What did your _scientists_ do to her?"

Rufus looked over at Cera and let out a deep sigh before replying. "They implanted an inhibitor made of mako crystal into her brain."

Cera reached up and gingerly felt the back of her head. She had noticed the slight swelling of scar tissue there when she first woke up, but had thought she merely hit her head on the floor in the old research facility when she'd fallen after being shot. She closed her eyes and asked quietly, "How does that work?"

Rufus shrugged in response. "From what I understand, the mako in the inhibitor reacts with the Jenova mutation in your blood in such a way that it will permanently inhibit the Chaos gene."

"Wasn't that what made her so strong in the first place, yo?" Reno wondered, carefully watching Cera. She seemed a bit dazed, as though the news of what had happened to her had been some sort of great, traumatic shock.

"Yes," Rufus confirmed for both of them. "I am afraid that Cera is now no better than one of us."


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Sorry, no Reno this chapter. This one is all devoted to the other couples in the story (despite how one-sided two of those romances are, for the time being). I promise, though, everyone's favorite redhead will return in the next chapter. Also, as a side-note: The alerts seem to be messed up again, so if you're one of the readers who signed up to be alerted when this story has been updated, you may want to just bookmark my profile and check back every so often for updates. Otherwise, you might not know when new chapters have been posted.

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Chapter Five

Elena stared at herself in the mirror hanging on the door of the small closet in her office, tucking her short blonde hair back behind her ears. Her face wrinkled up as she scrutinized her reflection, then after a moment's deliberation she reached up and ruffled her hair with her fingertips, messing up the sleek tresses into a more tousled look. A minute later, she changed her mind again and began desperately trying to get her hair to lie flat against her head once more.

Normally, she didn't care about how she looked at work. She went in, did her job, and got paid – just like everyone else. Only her situation wasn't quite the same as everyone else's. Not everyone else who worked for ShinRa had the hots for their boss.

Groaning in frustration, she slammed her head against the glass of the mirror. Rufus knew of her situation. She had gone to him, personally, and asked to be assigned a new partner when he put her with Tseng after the Meteor incident. But the bastard had refused, saying that since there were only four of them left and Reno and Rude already had such a long-standing and successful partnership, she would have to deal with her feelings and work with Tseng as best she could. He even mocked her rookie status, telling her she might actually learn something valuable from the older, more experienced Turk.

It also didn't help matters much that she knew Rufus and Tseng had a history. She had heard rumors from her sister, but always passed them off as just that until Tseng himself confessed to the relationship one night when they were on a stakeout together. Elena hadn't really been sure at first how she felt about the fact that the man she had a crush on had been involved somewhat romantically with another man, but Tseng assured her that he and Rufus had been over for a long time, and that helped ease things for her. After about an hour of sitting in quiet contemplation, watching him out of the corner of her eye as he sat there, the moonlight from the window highlighting his fine Wutaian features, she decided it didn't matter. Shiva help her, but she was already in love with him, and nothing would ever change that.

Of course, her feelings hadn't always run so deeply for her superior officer. It had started out as nothing more than an innocent crush, just something to daydream about and help pass the time when days were slow. Then, however, the two of them had been thrust into a life-or-death situation together. People always told her that sort of thing would change you, but she hadn't realized just _how much_ it changed a person until she experienced it first-hand. Sure, she had been in danger plenty of times on the job before, but until that day when she and Tseng had been captured by the remnants of Sephiroth, she had never actually feared for her life.

They had narrowly escaped a dark fate, thanks to the help of that ex-Turk-turned-AVALANCE-member, Vincent Valentine, and Tseng spent the next month and a half fawning over her each day, asking if she was alright and telling her she didn't have to be back at work so soon after what happened. She always assured him she was fine, and politely refused to take any time off from the job. After all, _he_ was there, too, and if he could do it so could she. He told her once that he admired her courage, and she had spent the rest of the day walking around with her cheeks bright red. Reno had made fun of her relentlessly, until she threatened to shoot him in the nuts.

Elena winced slightly as the thought of Reno came to mind. It had been almost a year since their little "mistake," but she still felt like a tramp for it. This was Reno, after all, and spending the night with him made her no better than any other bimbo who crossed his threshold. She supposed that she could really excuse it, though, because it had merely been a moment of weakness for the both of them. Cera had been dead less than a month, and Tseng was refusing to take the bait she had so carefully laid by openly dating other guys. The two of them had ended up getting drunk at her place one night and exchanging sob stories, and one thing inevitably led to another as they sought comfort in each other.

She'd hated herself the next morning, especially at their daily briefing in the conference room. Having to face Tseng after what happened – and knowing Reno would probably be an obnoxious jerk about it – made her more nervous than she usually was at the meetings. Thankfully, Reno had been discrete and held his tongue, even after Tseng came right out and asked Elena why she was acting so strangely.

"Elena!"

She jumped slightly at the sound of her name being called, cursing herself for allowing her mind to wander enough to let him startle her. Taking a deep breath, she closed the door of her closet and straightened the sleeves of her jacket before pulling her posture straight and stepping out into the hallway in front of her office. Tseng was leaning against the wall across from her doorway, arms crossed over his chest.

"Are you quite ready?" he asked her, raising an eyebrow slightly over one of his impossibly dark brown eyes. Elena nodded mutely, feeling a blush rising in her cheeks as she chewed on the corner of her bottom lip – a nervous habit she had only just recently formed, but always seemed to do in his presence.

"How long have you been standing there, Sir?" she asked, rather embarrassed to think that he might have been watching her little preening session.

"Long enough that I can tell you that you do not need to concern yourself with your looks on my account, Elena," he replied, pushing off from the wall and taking a step closer to her. "You look fine, no matter how you wear your hair."

Elena blinked and watched him as the corner of his mouth quirked upward in a half-smile before he turned away and began making his way to the elevator. She couldn't be quite sure, but it sounded very much like he had just paid her a compliment. And had that been an actual_ smile_?

"Thank you, Sir," she blurted out, then bit her tongue and silently followed him to the elevator, her cheeks burning an even brighter shade of red.

**

* * *

**

"Wow," Tifa breathed, slumping onto a bar stool next to Rude.

"You can say that again," Rude said with a slight chuckle, raising his beer to his lips and taking a sip before placing the glass back on the counter.

"Wait," Yuffie interrupted, shaking her head. "So Cera _isn't_ dead? But, I mean... We were all _there_. We heard Rufus tell Reno she didn't make it."

"Since when do _you_ believe everything Rufus Shinra says?" he asked her, turning his light brown eyes up in her direction. Tifa had known something was up when he came into the bar and the first thing he did after sitting down was remove his sunglasses and fold them up, placing them on the counter in front of him before rubbing his eyes the way he did when he was under stress.

"Well, are you sure it's really her?" the young ninja asked in return, placing a hand on her hip. "I mean, she could be some sort of clone, right?"

"Reno is convinced she's the genuine deal," Rude replied. "And even if she _was_ a clone, that means they would have had to make the copy back when she was first born because the Cera we saw today looked _exactly_ like her – same age and everything."

"Wow," Tifa said again, and Rude chuckled as he turned to her and placed a kiss against her forehead. She smiled at him, apparently coming out of the daze his news had put her in. "So... I bet Reno is happy."

"He's beside himself with joy," Rude informed her. "The two of them practically started making out on the spot when she showed up in our office. Tseng had to order them to get a room."

"Sounds like our good ol' Reno's back," Yuffie commented with a smirk.

Tife sighed a bit dramatically as she stood, grabbing her tray from where she had placed it on the counter. "I suppose this means he'll start coming around again and running up another massive tab."

Rude shook his head, laughing. "Not for a while, sweetheart. I predict most of his time will be spent in bed for the next week or so."

"Damn redheaded pervert," Yuffie muttered just loud enough for the others to hear. Tifa laughed and kissed Rude before returning to her rounds, and Rude went back to nursing his drink as he waited for her to get off work.

"You gonna need anything any time soon?" Yuffie asked him, untying the apron she wore around her waist while bar tending and setting it under the counter. Rude silently shook his head in reply, and she smiled at him. "Great! Mind watchin' the bar for me? I gotta make a quick phone call." Rude nodded, and she hopped up, balancing herself with one hand on the counter and leaning forward to kiss the top of his bald head. "Thanks!"

The ninja bounded upstairs to the room Tifa let her stay in while she worked at the bar and grabbed her phone from her nightstand, plopping down on the bed with a sigh. She scrolled through the phone book until Vincent's name was highlighted and hesitated. It had been almost three months since the last time he called her, and even then he had waited until the middle of the night and left a voice message. She hadn't actually _seen_ him since that day in the hospital.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed the button to dial his number and brought the phone to her ear. It rang a few times, then, as she expected, it went to his voice mail. There was no personal greeting from him to inform callers that it was his phone, simply a beep to indicate that the person calling should commence with leaving their message.

Yuffie took a deep breath and froze, then quickly turned the phone off and stared at it. She had no idea what to say to him. _Hey, guess what? Your daughter's not dead!_ just didn't seem like the right way to go. She also didn't want to break down and start sobbing like she did the _last_ time she called him, begging him to come back. Sighing heavily, she flopped back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling, kicking her feet as she considered her options: She could try to play it cool and merely inform him of the latest developments, or she could throw in a dash of pleading and hope it didn't end up keeping him from coming back just so he could avoid her.

"What the hell, Yuffie, you only live once," she said to herself, getting up her courage as she sat up and dialed his number once more. She waited until she head the beeping of the voice mail recorder, then forgot what she was going to say.

"Um... Yeah. Vinnie, it's me... Yuffie," she mumbled slightly, scrunching up her nose at how stupid she must sound. Of _course_ it was her. No one else was insane enough to try to call him.

"I was just callin' to see how you've been. Haven't heard from ya in a while and I – we," she quickly corrected herself, "were starting to worry."

Yuffie closed her eyes and shook her head, sighing again to herself. She was, in her mind, the very definition of pathetic: mooning over a man she would probably never have, even if he _had_ shown a slight interest in her before.

"Anyway, I called to tell you we got some news today. Cera... That is, your daughter... She um... She's... alive." She laughed a bit nervously. "Wonders never cease, huh? So, I uh... I guess you're probably gonna wanna come back and see her. Maybe you could stop by Tifa's bar and we could all hang out, you know... for old time's sake."

The ninja groaned inwardly and smacked her open hand against her forehead, shaking her head and quietly cursing at herself.

"So, yeah... That's why I called you. You take care of yourself, old man. See ya around."

She turned off her phone and tossed it across the bed with a frustrated growl, then leaned forward, propping her arms on her legs and her head in her hands. Why couldn't she have it easy, like Tifa? Why couldn't the guy she loved just _be_ there? Why did he have to be so emotionally distant and about as romantic as a peanut? Why, of all the men on the planet, did she have to go and fall for _him_?

Letting out a small sigh, she reached up and wiped away tears from her cheeks that she hadn't even realized she'd been crying. Her mother had once told her that love is never perfect or easy, which was probably why she had always avoided being put into situations where she could easily fall in love with someone. She hadn't expected it to happen with anyone in AVALANCHE, _least_ of all him. He was old, and creepy, and could be _such_ a downer at times. But the more time they spent together, the easier she found it to ignore his age and look past the weirdo vampire garb he wore. She even found herself trying to _cheer him up_ when he was in one of his moods.

By the time they all parted after Sephiroth's defeat, she had developed a _major_ crush on him. And when they all reunited to help Cloud deal with the remnants, the flood gates suddenly burst and she found herself head-over-heels in love with him. She'd been afraid that he would never learn to love again, especially after what happened with his kid. Now, however, she wondered if maybe Vincent Valentine might not be such a hopeless case, after all.

If only he would come back.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: Just a short note to all my regular readers who may be fed up with the instability of the site's update alert bot - I have created an announcement list on Yahoo Groups to send out my own noticed about new stories/chapters that have been posted. This should be **much** more reliable for receiving updates, since I will be sending them out myself whenever I post something new. The link to sign up is located at the bottom of my profile.

* * *

Chapter Six

Reno rolled over in the middle of the night, reaching out blindly with his left arm to wrap it around Cera. He awoke suddenly when his arm fell upon the empty mattress beside him, momentarily wondering if the entire day had just been some sort of dream. Everything had been so vivid, though, that he couldn't believe there was a possibility that none of it had been real.

Sitting up in bed, he froze at the sight before him, a small smile crossing his lips a moment later. She was standing at the window, the fair skin of her face illuminated by the moonlight, though most of her was still cast in shadow. He simply sat there, watching her, thinking how lucky he was to have her back. It wasn't until she blinked and he saw a tear roll down her cheek that he realized she was crying. Pushing the covers aside, he climbed across the bed and stood up, unconsciously smoothing out his rumpled clothes as he moved to stand behind her. He placed his hands on her bare arms and felt her trembling ever so slightly under his touch.

"What's wrong, babe?" he asked quietly, running his hands up and down her arms.

"How can you even stand to be with me, Reno?" she replied, her voice barely more than a whisper. "I almost killed you."

"That wasn't _you_, yo. I told you that." He slid his arms around her waist and held her, resting his chin on her shoulder. "You had no control over the things Chaos was making you do."

Cera let out a short, humorless laugh. "And now all I can ever be to you is a burden."

Reno pulled his head back and looked at her, wondering what exactly she meant by the statement. He knew she hadn't taken Rufus' revelations about her current condition very well. In fact, she had been a bit sullen the entire way home after their meeting with the president, insisting she was tired once they reached his apartment. She'd asked him to stay with her until she fell asleep, and he'd ended up drifting off, as well. He figured she was just fatigued from the emotional roller coaster the entire day had been for them both. Now here she was, talking about being a burden to him, and he had no idea why she felt that way. She was _alive_, and that was what mattered to him.

"You heard Rufus," she continued speaking, turning her head slightly in his direction but keeping her eyes downcast so she wouldn't have to look him in the eye. "Now that the Chaos gene has been suppressed, I am no better than any other normal person on the planet. I have no more strength, no heightened senses, no ability to fight."

"So?" he wondered aloud, shaking his head slightly. "What does that matter?"

Cera sighed and turned to fully face him, reaching up to place both of her hands flat against his chest. She smoothed some of the wrinkles from his jacket, then traced an invisible line across the smooth skin that was exposed. Reno shivered slightly, his breath quickening a bit at the simple, yet intimate gesture. She ran her hands down over the front of his shirt and stepped back, still refusing to meet his eyes, and he grabbed her hand, pulling her back to him as he reached up with his other hand and cupped her chin, tilting her face up toward his.

"Talk to me, Cera," he whispered just as quietly as she had been speaking.

"You're going to end up getting yourself killed if you stay with me, Reno," she told him in a strained voice. He opened his mouth to protest, but she placed her fingers over his lips to stop him. "If I can't take care of myself... If I can't defend or protect myself, you'll do it for me."

Reno reached up and gently pulled her hand away from his mouth, kissing her palm before holding her hand firmly against his chest. "Of course I will, babe."

"That's the problem," Cera protested, shaking her head. "If you're concerned with protecting _me_, you're own self-preservation instincts will end up suffering for it. I can't risk causing your death, Reno."

"Stop worrying," he insisted. "I can handle it, yo."

"What if you can't?" she cried, clenching his shirt tightly in her hand. "I have enough blood on my hands already. I don't need more – _especially_ not yours."

Reno sighed, pulling her against him and holding her tightly, his eyes falling closed as he rested his head against hers. _This_ was what the entire thing was all about: Her guilt over the people she'd killed when she was under Chaos' control. He stroked her long, dark hair slowly, kissing her temple.

"_Nothing_ will happen to me, Cera," he whispered. "I promise. I'm not gonna leave you, yo. No way, no how."

Cera sighed and nodded slightly, leaning forward to rest her head on his shoulder. It seemed so easy to him: Just tell her that nothing would happen and assume that it wouldn't. She knew better, though. She knew that there were things that were far beyond their control. In the blink of an eye, everything could change... for the better _or_ worse. It seemed, however, that she was never going to convince him of just how unrealistic he was being.

A moment of silence passed between them as they stood together, Reno still holding her and stroking her hair as she continued to rest against him, and then he suddenly began to laugh quietly. Cera lifted her head from his shoulder and looked at him, finding his eyes closed as he shook his head slightly with an amused grin on his face.

"What's so funny?" she wondered aloud, her brow furrowing in confusion. Reno opened his eyes and looked at her, his smile softening as he sighed and shook his head once more.

"Just thinking that if anyone saw me right now, they'd want to know who the hell I was and what I did with the _real_ Reno," he explained to her, another small laugh passing through his lips.

Cera couldn't help but smirk a bit in reply. "I suppose that _is_ true. After all, you have quite the reputation for being a... ladies man."

"That's putting it _nicely_, yo," Reno remarked with a smirk of his own. "Most people just call me a slut."

"You know," Cera stated thoughtfully, tilting her head slightly to one side as she wrapped her arms around his neck, "I've actually wondered once or twice just how many women you've been with in the past."

Reno groaned at the question. "Honestly? I have no fucking idea, babe. Too many to count, that's for damn sure." She merely nodded in response and it became his turn to regard her with a curious look. "Doesn't that bother you?"

"Why?" she asked, confused by his question. "Should it?"

Reno shrugged. "Well, most girls _would_ be so... yeah. I mean," he paused, shifting the position of his arms around her waist and looking toward the ceiling above their heads as if asking the gods to help him find the right words to say. "A girl like you deserves better, yo. Take Rude, for example. The guy's so fucking sweet when it comes to Tifa it makes my damn teeth hurt sometimes. And he ain't the type of guy to sleep around, neither."

"I don't _deserve_ anyone, Reno," Cera insisted. His head instantly snapped back up at her words, and he found her staring sullenly at his chest once more. He opened his mouth to tell her she was wrong, but her voice cut him off.

"Why do you love me?" she asked quietly, glancing up to meet his eyes.

"Why do _you_ love _me_?" he asked in return, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"It doesn't matter why I love you, Reno," she told him, running one of her hands through his hair. "I just do."

"Then it doesn't matter why I love you, yo," he replied.

"It does to me," she said, her voice holding a note of desperation. "Reno... I'm a dangerous, violent person--"

"So am I," he pointed out.

"I've killed _a lot_ of people--"

"I've killed _way more_ than you, babe," he reminded her with a chuckle.

"I almost killed _you_--"

Reno sighed. "We're not getting back on _that_ again, are we?"

Cera turned away from him, her arms slipping from around his neck as she took a step closer to the window. His arms slackened around her, his hands still resting on her hips, and he watched her quietly a moment before moving closer to her and pulling her back against him, one of his hands slipping around her to caress her stomach through the thin material of the dress she wore. He could feel her abdominal muscles contracting under his fingertips as she drew in a sharp breath, his own body responding to the way she reacted to his touch.

"I'm not gonna lie to you and say I wasn't sexually attracted you," he told her, leaning down to place a kiss on her shoulder, his fingers tracing invisible trails across her lower abdomen. "You're beautiful, yo, and I totally admit that's one of the things that drew me to you, at first: Your beauty and your innocence."

"My innocence?" she asked in a somewhat breathy voice.

Reno laughed. "What I meant was... well... You were just so sweet and innocent, like nothing bad had ever touched you." He shrugged a bit, wrapping both of his arms tightly around her and resting his chin over her shoulder. "I guess I saw that part of you and realized how much I missed bein' like that myself, and I guess... I just wanted to hold onto it and pretend I wasn't the kind of guy I am."

"Oh."

"But I ain't innocent, yo. Far from it. I've screwed more women than a Wall Market pimp, killed and tortured countless people in the name of ShinRa, drank _way_ more than any person _ever_ should... lied, cheated, stole, committed every damn sin in the book... and you never judged me – not once, yo. It was like you could see past all the bad shit I did and saw something inside me that's a better person than who I really am."

"I saw you – _still_ see you – for what you are _now_, Reno," Cera told him, sighing softly. "Your past can't be changed. It's a part of who you are. If I can't accept it, then I can't accept _you_. Sure, you might have done some really evil things--"

"A lot, actually," he corrected her, quietly.

"The point is... What's done is done. There's no changing it. What matters to me is _who you are_ _now_. And, to me, you're the one who did nothing but try to protect me. You're the _only_ person who didn't treat me like some sort genetic freak to be studied or a monster to be put down, even after I almost killed you. You love me, unconditionally, and so that is how I choose to love you, in return."

Reno kissed her cheek, smiling against her soft skin. "And that's why I love you so much, yo. I still don't understand what the hell you saw in me, but I ain't gonna complain."

"Honestly?" Cera asked him, turning her head to look into his bright blue eyes. "Your attitude."

"Well _that's_ a first," he responded with a laugh. "Most people tell me I need a better one of those, yo."

"Don't get me wrong," she replied with a teasing smirk. "You're still a jerk sometimes. But the wonderful thing about you is you don't _care_ what other people think about you. You're completely comfortable being the annoying, obnoxious, loud-mouthed jerk who doesn't care to live by everyone else's rules."

"Ouch, babe," Reno said with a mock pout. "I thought you loved me, yo."

"I _do_ love you," Cera assured him. "But that doesn't make you any less of an annoying, obnoxious, loud-mouthed, responsibility-shirking, rule-breaking--"

"Yeah, yeah, I get the point." He glared playfully at her for a second, a devilish smirk on his face.

"Anyway," she continued with a sigh, "I saw in you what I wish I could be. Kind of like you saw what you wanted to be in me. So... I guess, in a way, we complete each other."

Reno rolled his eyes. "Geez, babe... Could we get any _more_ sappy here?"

"Oh, I think that can be accomplished," she told him, then leaned closer and kissed him.

Reno's reaction was automatic. His arms tightened around her as his lips moved against hers, returning the soft kiss. After a moment, he reached up, threading his fingers into her hair, and kissed her more firmly. She sighed into the kiss, her lips parting slightly, and Reno took the opportunity to claim her mouth. His tongue met hers, and Cera wasted no time in turning aggressive. Her arms wrapped around his neck, both of her hands tangling in his hair as she fought with him for control of the kiss, and Reno couldn't help himself from groaning with pleasure as she captured his tongue between her lips and sucked on it briefly. He was vaguely aware that she had freed one of her hands from his hair, but hadn't given any thought to what she was up to until he felt her gently caressing him through the front of his pants.

"Holy fuck," he gasped, his fingers tightening in her hair and against the small of her back. Cera touched him again, a bit more confidently, and a deep moan escaped his lips, causing her to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Reno asked her, leaning forward and playfully nipping at her bottom lip.

"You," she replied, grinning. "I didn't expect a reaction _quite_ like that from you."

"What can I say, babe? You turn me on." He kissed her again, taking his time and backing off whenever she started to get too eager.

"Make love to me, Reno," Cera requested as she began kissing a trail along the line of his jaw once he had finally pulled away.

"Not tonight, babe," he answered, making her freeze for a moment before leaning back slightly and looking at him in disbelief.

"Reno, sweetie, are you feeling okay?" she asked, reaching up and laying a hand across his forehead as if checking for a fever. "I could swear I actually just heard you turning down the chance to get laid."

"I'm fine, yo," Reno assured her with a bit of a laugh. "I just don't want to have sex tonight."

"I beg to differ," she argued, touching him intimately once more. Reno closed his eyes and bit back his moan, desperate to keep himself under control. He knew if she kept touching him like that, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from throwing her onto the bed and just taking her. The memory of their first time together was still vivid in his mind, however, and it was because of that that he gently pushed her away, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

"Remember how I told you I never slept with a woman before without sex being involved?" he asked her. She gave him an odd look, but nodded her head in response. "I want to spend our first night back together like that, yo. No sex. I just want to hold you."

"Reno," she addressed him with a questioning tone, "are you... _afraid_ to have sex with me?"

He was taken aback a bit by the question, and had to spend a moment actually thinking about it. If he wanted to be completely honest with himself, he _could_ say that part of him _was_ afraid. Which was stupid, because he was _never_ afraid of sex. Although, the more he thought about it, it wasn't the actual sex that was the problem. It was her. He was afraid that he wasn't going to be good enough for her, that he would somehow screw it up like he had the last time. Granted, it had been great for what it was – a half-assed, drunken fuck – but he wanted to give her more than that. Which was why waiting seemed to be the best option to him, at the moment.

"I just want to make sure we do it right this time, babe," he answered quietly after a moment. "If we keep going right now, well... It probably won't be much different than last time, yo."

Cera opened her mouth to speak, then changed her mind and nodded with a sigh, bringing a hand up to cover her mouth as the sigh turned into a yawn.

"I'm still a bit tired, anyway," she admitted. "Come on... let's go back to bed."

Reno smiled as she took him by the hand and led him back over to the bed, watching her as she crawled onto the mattress and settled down, snuggling under the covers like a sleepy child. For a moment, he simply stood next to the bed watching her. Then Cera lifted her head off the pillow and looked at him, patting the empty space next to her, and he joined her. She slid over next to him, resting her head upon his chest as she draped one of her arms over him, and he wrapped his own arms around her, stroking her hair as he listened to the soft sound of her breathing.

A few minutes passed, and her breaths evened out, signaling that she had fallen back to sleep. Reno continued to lie awake in the darkness, stroking her hair and plotting in the back of his head, his smile growing even wider as an idea began to take form in his mind.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Rude hummed a bit to himself as he tightened the knot of his tie, preparing for the first peaceful day at work he'd had in a _long_ time. Tseng had informed him that Rufus was only relieving _him_ of his suspension, figuring Reno would now welcome the time off in order to spend it with Cera. That had given Rude a good laugh, and also filled him with a certain sense of joy. He loved Reno like a brother, but sometimes he just wished the redhead would learn when to _stop talking_. The peace and quiet his absence would provide was, to Rude, almost like getting a bonus during a vacation.

He checked himself over once more in the mirror and made sure his tie was perfectly straight, then made his way out of the bedroom and down the hallway to his kitchen, passing the bathroom along the way. He could hear the shower running behind the closed door, and the sound of Tifa's voice and she quietly sang to herself. She insisted she couldn't sing, but Rude had always thought she had a lovely voice – even if she was a bit off-key sometimes – and he couldn't help but smile as he passed by.

Rude's apartment was quite a bit larger than Reno's, with a second bedroom he used as a combination office, storage room, and practice area for his martial arts. The other rooms were also larger in size than the ones of his best friend's apartment, and Rude often wondered why Reno just didn't move out of that shitty hellhole he called home in favor of a bigger, nicer place. Every time he asked, however, he received the same reply: "It suits me just fine, yo." Rude wondered how long it would be before Cera insisted they relocate to a nicer part of town.

Shaking his head slightly and smiling a bit at the thought of Cera pestering Reno over wanting a nicer apartment to live in, he made his way into the kitchen to pour himself a cup of coffee. Tifa had been trying to get him off the stuff, insisting that the tea she drank was much better for him, but he simply couldn't stand drinking something that tasted like grass. Plus, he needed the strong taste of black coffee to help him wake up in the morning because, despite everyone's belief to the contrary, he was _not_ a morning person.

With a steaming cup of his beloved morning beverage in hand, he made his way into the living room to watch the news while he waited for Tifa to get out of the shower. He had promised to give her a ride back to her bar on his way in to work, figuring Tseng wouldn't mind him being a couple of minutes late. Blowing on the almost scalding cup of coffee, he took two steps into the living room and froze at the sight before him.

"Hey, man, you got any more of that stuff?" called Reno from where he was kneeling on the floor in front of Rude's stereo, apparently browsing through his partner's CD collection.

"How in Shiva's name did you get in here, Reno?" Rude asked, rather annoyed as he wondered just _how long_ the other man had been in his apartment. "I thought I locked the front door last night."

"You did, yo," the redhead replied with a grin. "And _I _picked the lock. Former street rat, remember?"

Rude sighed and took a seat near him, watching as he continued looking through the CDs on the shelves by the stereo, occasionally pulling one off the shelf and looking at it before either frowning and putting it back or adding it to a small pile next to him on the floor.

"Reno?"

"Yeah?" Reno replied without turning to look at him.

"What exactly are you doing?" Rude asked, attempting to remain as calm as possible.

"I need some tunes for something I'm planning, yo."

Rude raised an eyebrow and craned his neck a bit as he sipped his coffee, attempting to get a better look at the titles his friend has selected.

"Why can't you use your own music?" he asked as he took note of exactly which titles would be leaving his possession so that he would be sure to get them back – eventually.

"Cause I don't have any of this sappy romantic shit you do," Reno replied, a note of teasing in his voice.

"What in Shiva's name are you up to, Reno?"

Reno sighed and turned around, sitting on the floor with his back pressed up against the CDs remaining on the shelves.

"Well... Cera's kinda down right now. Y'know, with all the 'I killed a bunch of people and I fucking hate myself' thing. So... I thought I'd treat her to a... romantic evening in, yo."

Rude stared at him quietly for a moment before speaking. "Who the hell are you, and what have you done with my partner?"

Reno chuckled in response to his comment. "What? I ain't allowed to be romantic with my woman?"

"No... it's just that you generally _aren't_ romantic. Ever."

Reno shrugged slightly. "She deserves it. I at least gotta try, yo. Hell, maybe it'll change my whole life, you never know. Maybe I'll end up more like _you_."

"I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment or an insult, considering who it's coming from."

Reno laughed, grabbing the CDs off the floor and standing up with a bit of a grunt. He stretched, groaning, and yawned loudly as he looked at his watch.

"I better get back before Cera wakes up, yo."

"She doesn't know you're here?"

"Hell no, man... This is _supposed_ to be a surprise. Telling her what I'm up to kinda defeats the purpose."

"Rude, have you seen my..."

Tifa's voice trailed off as she wandered into the living room, wrapped in a bath towel with her hair still wet. The moment she spotted Reno, her face turned a brilliant shade of red that almost rivaled his hair, and she automatically pulled her towel tighter around herself, causing him to laugh.

"Tifa, I ain't gonna try to sneak a peak, if that's what you're thinkin'," Reno assured her with a grin before turning to Rude. "Although, I must say... You got some _real_ good taste in women, yo."

"Um... Thank you," Rude said, unsure of how to properly respond to the comment.

"Well, I guess I'll just leave you two lovebirds alone," Reno told them, winking at Rude as he made his way to the front door, waving the stack of CDs in his hand in the air as he exited the room. "Thanks for the tunes, man."

"You're bringing those _back_ tomorrow, Reno!" Rude called after him.

"Yeah, yeah," the redhead replied under his breath as he left and went back to his apartment, hoping Cera hadn't yet woken up.

**

* * *

**

Elena sat stock-still by the window of the hotel room she and Tseng were positioned in, watching for any signs of suspicious activity in the street below. According to the data gathered by ShinRa's intelligence experts, all of the missing children had last been seen within one block of their current position. The total had reached six before anyone had bothered to bring the disappearances to the attention of the Public Safety Department, and another five children had already gone missing in the time it took the case to reach the Turks.

"Anything?" Tseng asked as he came out of the bathroom behind her. Elena shook her head a bit and sighed.

"Nothing, I--" her voice died in her throat when she turned to look at him and found him standing there shirtless, his hair loose and still wet from his shower. He paused in drying his hair with the towel around his neck and simply stared at her a moment, his head tilted slightly to one side.

"Is something wrong, Elena?"

She felt her cheeks burning red with guilt at having been caught staring at him, and quickly turned back to the window.

"I'm sorry, sir," she quickly apologized, her voice squeaking slightly. She cleared her throat before continuing to speak. "There have been no suspicious activities in the vicinity."

"I thought I told you to stop calling me 'sir'," Tseng reminded her as he tossed the towel onto the bed and pulled on his shirt.

"I'm sorry," Elena apologized again, still refusing to look at him. "I must have forgotten."

"Then I suppose I will just have to keep reminding you," he said, his voice holding a slightly teasing note. Elena turned to him, surprised by the tone, and was even more surprised to find him actually smiling at her. Her hazel eyes fell to his chest, which was still exposed by his open shirt, and she quickly looked away once more.

"Why are you so embarrassed to look at me, Elena?" he asked as he took a step closer to where she was sitting.

"It... it's not exactly proper for you to be... _undressed_ around me, is it?" she asked him, stammering slightly as she noticed him moving even closer out of the corner of her eye.

"It's not like you've never seen me without clothes on before," Tseng retorted. Elena turned her head farther away from him so that she couldn't see him at all any longer.

"Those were entirely different circumstances, and you know it," she stated firmly. "We were _both_ being tortured and... and... the _last_ thing on my mind was... to..."

"Check me out?" Tseng offered.

"What makes you think I was 'checking you out' just now?" Elena asked him in an attempt to deny what she had so obviously been doing. "I was merely appalled that you would act so unprofessionally on company time."

"Elena."

He said her name, and she was started by the closeness of his voice. She waited for him to continue speaking, but when he said nothing more she realized that he was waiting for her to look at him. Slowly, she turned her head and met his brown eyes, so dark they were almost black.

"I'm not at blind as you think I am," he told her simply before turning away from her and walking back over to the bed to retrieve the rest of his clothes, buttoning his shirt along the way.

Elena sighed inwardly as she returned to the duty at hand, her eyes scanning the crowd below for anything out of the ordinary. All she could see, however, were people going to and from the various shops and office buildings that lined the street. Sighing heavily, she began to slump in her chair when something caught her eye.

"Tseng," she called him over, suddenly very alert.

"What do you have?" Tseng asked, standing next to her. He was already fully dressed, and Elena couldn't help but take a second to marvel at how he could dress so quickly and still look completely polished and professional. Realizing that her mind was wandering, she quickly shook herself and focused once more on what she had seen.

"That," she told him, pointing to a middle-aged man walking down the sidewalk on the other side of the street. He seemed completely oblivious to his surroundings, not even bothering to try to side-step any of the others on the sidewalk, even though he was walking the opposite direction of the majority of them. Even from a distance, she could tell that his hair was dirty and his clothes were rumpled and slept in, but what had caught her attention the most about him was the fact that he was carrying a rather large sack over one shoulder.

"Either Christmas has come early this year, or that's probably our guy," she remarked, drawing a chuckle from him.

"Sounds like something Reno would say," Tseng told her.

"No," she corrected him, "Reno would have used a more... colorful vernacular. Plus, I didn't say 'yo'."

"Good point. So, you think that's the one?"

"At the least, he looks like a good suspect."

Tseng nodded. "Very well. Take note of where he goes."

"We're not going to apprehend him?" Elena asked, surprised that they would just let a suspected child abductor go about his business.

"We have very specific orders from President Rufus," Tseng informed her. "We are to _locate_ the suspect, only."

"But, Tseng," she protested. "What if he's _hurting_ those children?"

"I don't like it any more than you, Elena, but those are our orders and we _will_ follow them, as we are expected to," he told her, firmly.

"Yes, sir," she replied quietly.

Tseng watched her silently for a moment, regretting having taken such a stern tone with her, then sighed a bit, returning his attention to the man outside.

"Rufus doesn't want us going after this guy because it may be a repeat of what was going on the _last_ time children started mysteriously disappearing."

"You mean with the Remnants?" she asked, looking up at him. Tseng nodded a bit, still staring out the window at their target, watching his every move. "You can't honestly tell me Rufus is worried that we'll be tortured again."

"_He's_ not... I am."

"Huh?"

"I refused to put you at risk of going through that again, Elena," he admitted quietly, looking at her as he said her name. "So Rufus agreed that we would do the surveillance and Reno and Rude would be in charge of the seizure of any suspects we found."

Elena merely stared at him for a long while, studying his face and searching for any sign that he meant what she thought he was trying to say. She knew he would never say the words, though. Not out loud, just like that. And she wondered, for the first time, if maybe the only thing holding him back was her. Each time he made some sort of comment or did something that might be seen as casual flirting, she always turned shy and shut herself off from his advances.

She had a choice. She could either blush and turn away from him or take the next step. Closing her eyes, she bowed her head and quietly gathered up her willpower. Just as he started to pull away from her, she grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him toward her once again, pressing her lips firmly against his. Tseng blinked in surprise for a few seconds before returning the kiss, wrapping his arms slowly around her.

Inside her head, Elena was doing a victory dance.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Cera sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose between two fingers as she laid out the documents she had been reading on Reno's desk, getting Rude's attention. The Turk watched her quietly from behind his dark glasses for a moment before clearing his throat a bit, drawing her tired gaze toward him.

"It's getting late," he told her. "You should probably head home."

"I know, but..." she protested, then sighed again and forcefully shut the folder full of scientific data before her. "I've been spending the last six hours reading through this garbage and none of it is making any sense."

Rude couldn't help but laugh. "Since when do scientists _ever_ make any sense?"

"It _should _make sense, though. To _me_, at least. I grew up around those people. Generally, I can understand how their minds work."

"But?"

"But," she continued, leaning back slightly in the chair and running her hands back through her hair in frustration. "It's almost like... there's something missing. Like there's parts that should be in these reports that aren't there."

"I think you're being paranoid," Rude told her, getting up to pour himself another cup of coffee. Rufus had instructed him to stay at headquarters until Tseng and Elena returned from their surveillance mission, so he knew he was going to be in for a long night and would need all the help he could get to stay awake without Reno there to constantly talk his ear off.

"Am I?" Cera asked him, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Rufus may not be the most trustworthy person on the planet, but he gave you unrestricted access to the research archives."

"So am I supposed to feel honored or something?" Cera remarked sarcastically, then sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just really frustrated with all this."

Rude nodded in understanding. "Go home. Spend some time with Reno, get some sleep. Come in tomorrow and look over it again with fresh eyes. Maybe it'll make more sense, then."

"Maybe you're right," she replied, standing up and stretching a little before stepping aside to push the chair back under the desk. "I should just stop over-thinking everything about this and go home to Reno. Hopefully he hasn't already completely destroyed the apartment in my absence."

Rude couldn't stop the snort of laughter that escaped his lips, shaking his head a bit as he imagined what sort of mess Reno might have made during the day in preparation for his "romantic" night with Cera.

"Just go," he encouraged her. "You can leave the files on his desk."

"You sure?" she asked, holding up one of the folders.

Rude nodded in reply. "If Tseng and Elena get back before you return in the morning, I'll lock up the office when I leave."

"Thanks, Rude."

Cera crossed the room to him and leaned up slightly to kiss his cheek, causing him to blush slightly. Tifa often kissed his cheek and always got the same reaction from him. It was almost like a reflex. Cera made her way for the door of the office, smiling at the visage of the stoic Turk with his cheeks burning a brilliant shade of pink from the simple gesture of gratitude.

As she made her way home on foot, she couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. Reno's apartment wasn't really that far from headquarters, but she still felt a bit uneasy about walking through that part of town alone at night – especially now that she had no real way to defend herself. Every step she took, she felt like someone was watching her, and she unconsciously quickened her pace until she finally reached the front door of the apartment building.

As she grasped the door handle, however, she suddenly froze. The feeling that she was being followed had suddenly been replaced by a sort of unearthly calm. Curious, she looked around in the shadows near the entrance of the building to see if anyone was really there. All she found, however, was a stack of boxes piled next to an old dumpster. Breathing a small sigh of relief, she shook her head and quietly reprimanded herself for being so paranoid before heading into the building.

What she hadn't noticed was the shadowy figure perched on the ledge of the building across from her.

**

* * *

**

Reno ran around the apartment, swearing up a storm as he desperately tried to get everything in place for Cera's return. Rude had called to inform him that she was on the way home, and he wasn't nearly finished preparing all the special little things he had wanted to do for her. Taking a slow, deep breath, he forced himself to stop and take stock of what was missing. He had the candles lit, the wine was breathing, the food was laid out, and the music was softly playing in the background. Everything _seemed_ to be in place, but somehow he couldn't help but feel that something was missing.

"Reno?"

Reno jumped at the sound of Cera's voice, spinning around and dashing toward the front door before she could make her way into the living room and see the setup.

"Hey, babe," he greeted her, kissing her as he took her coat and set it on the table next to the door. She sighed happily, kissing him back for a moment before sniffing a bit and pulling away from him.

"Is something on fire?" she asked, looking about the small apartment.

"Uh, yeah... about that," Reno remarked sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "I kinda... tried to cook. Didn't turn out too well, yo."

"You _cooked_?" Cera asked. "For me?"

"I _tried_, but... I guess I'm as bad a cook as Elena, after all." Cera playfully smacked his arm, reprimanding him for saying such things about one of his co-workers and closest friends. "Anyway, I ended up having to throw it out and ordered take-out, instead. I'm sorry, yo."

Cera merely shook her head, kissing him briefly. "It's the thought that counts. And I appreciate that you would go to so much trouble for me. Although... it's not exactly like you, but I guess you didn't have anything else to do with your time."

Reno laughed quietly. "You're rambling."

"Am I?" she asked him. He nodded in reply. "I'm sorry. My brain is just so fried right now."

"Well, it sound like you could use a relaxing evening in with your man, yo. Come on," he took one of her hands in his, beckoning her toward the living room with his other hand.

Raising an eyebrow in curiosity, Cera allowed him to lead her into the living room. The sight before her was enough to make her freeze in her tracks. The entire room had been tidied up since she left: the piles of magazines on the coffee table put away and replaced by candles and a bouquet of roses, the various other clutter cleared away and replaced by a sort of romantic indoor picnic of Wutaian takeout, including a bottle of wine.

"This is... Wow," she said, turning to look at him. "What's all this for?"

"Just a proper romantic evening for my beautiful girl," Reno replied as he sat down next to the spread, pouring a glass of wine and handing it to her.

"Stop it," Cera told him, not moving to take the glass from him.

"Huh?" Reno asked, looking confused. She sighed and took the glass of wine from his outstretched hand, setting it down on the coffee table as she knelt next to him on the floor.

"This is all very nice, Reno, and I don't want you to think I don't appreciate it, because I do. It's just..." She paused, shaking her head slightly as she tried to find the right words. "This isn't you. You're not the sort of guy to woo a girl with candles and flowers."

"I _could_ be, yo."

Cera took his face in her hands and looked him in the eye as she continued speaking. "I didn't fall in love with you because you're romantic, Reno. You don't have to try so hard. You already have me."

"So are you saying I should never be romantic?" Reno wondered, leaning closer to her until their lips were barely touching.

"No, that's not what I'm saying," Cera answered, her voice a bit breathless from the increasing proximity of his body.

Reno nodded slightly and closed the distance between them, pressing his lips almost possessively against hers. Cera gasped slightly in surprise at the sudden movement, and Reno took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. She didn't resist, wrapping her arms around his neck and sliding closer to him as she kissed him back just as fervently. Reno moaned at her eager response, pulling her into his lap and knocking over her wineglass in the process.

"Shit," he muttered, breaking the kiss and attempting to clean up the spill before it could run onto the floor and stain the worn carpet.

Cera giggled and kissed his neck, sending a shiver up his spine. "Don't worry about it." Reno ceased with mopping up the wine and looked at her, causing her to suddenly turn shy.

"Why don't we leave all this for later?" she asked quietly, playing with one of the buttons on his shirt with her head resting on his shoulder.

"What are you saying, Cera?" he asked her in his most seductive tone, smiling devilishly. He was almost certain he knew what she was thinking, but he wanted to heard her say it.

"I think we've both waited more than long enough, and I'm pretty sure we both want this more than anything right now--"

"Just spit it out, yo," he told her before she could begin rambling.

"I want you to make love to me, Reno," Cera told him quietly, finally meeting his eyes once more.

Reno grinned in response and kissed her briefly before standing up, taking her with him. The sudden movement caused her to squeak in surprise, and he couldn't help but laugh at how cute she looked when she was startled. She slapped his chest for laughing at her and he kissed her again before nodding in reply to her previous request.

"You got it, babe."


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Note: Here it is, the next chapter - finally! I know I'm lagging a bit between chapters, but like one of my good friends said, I'm not going to try to rush it. Real life comes first. Although I'm also guilty of paying attention to some other muses that have been running around in my brain, too. But it's good exercise, running after them all. Thanks to everyone who's been sticking with me in spite of the downtime. I love you all!

* * *

Chapter Nine

Reno stood just inside his bedroom doorway, leaning against the wall as he watched Cera sleeping in the bed. A small smile tugged at his lips as he watched her laying among the tangled sheets. She almost looked like a little girl, the way she was curled up in a ball, clutching one of the pillows and pouting slightly in her sleep. Glancing at his watch, he debated whether he should wake her up or let her sleep some more. It was almost eleven o'clock, but he really couldn't blame her for being tired.

A moment later, his phone began ringing. Swearing under his breath, he stuffed his hand into his jacket pocket and pulled the handset out, hitting the answer button before bringing it to his ear and speaking in a loud whisper.

"What?"

"Reno, it's Rude. You and I have an assignment."

"I know that, yo," Reno informed his partner, still keeping his voice low. He checked to make sure Cera hadn't been disturbed by his phone ringing as he continued speaking. "Rufus called and left a voice mail earlier."

"Fine. I'm on my way there now. You better be dressed and ready in ten minutes, partner."

"Already ahead of you, man," Reno replied, sighing a bit when he saw Cera beginning to stir and sit up in bed. "Look, don't come up here okay? I'll meet you downstairs in ten minutes."

"I'll give you twenty, considering you likely have a naked woman in your bed," Rude conceded. "But any more than that and I will come up there and haul your ass down myself. Got it?"

"Got it, yo."

Reno closed his phone and placed it back in his pocket, grinning a bit sheepishly at Cera, who was half-awake and smiling at him, holding the covers up with one hand just enough to cover herself.

"Good morning," she told him, her voice still thick with sleep.

"Sorry 'bout that," Reno apologized, still standing against the wall. "Rufus called earlier. He's sending Rude and me out on a mission. Rude was just making sure I was ready to go."

"You're leaving now?" she asked him, pouting slightly again.

"Soon," Reno confirmed with a nod.

"How long will you be gone?"

"Dunno," he admitted with a shrug. "Sometimes we're only gone a day, sometimes these things take several days. I'll know more after I meet up with Rude, yo."

Cera nodded a bit, then held her arms out to him. "Come here."

Reno went over to stand at the foot of the bed and she sat up on her knees, dropping the sheet she had been covering herself with. 

"Damn, I'm going to miss this," he told her with a lecherous grin as he eyed her half-naked body. 

"Then how about one for the road?" she suggested, grabbing the lapels of his jacket, bringing him closer and pressing her lips against his. Reno chuckled a bit in the back of his throat, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her body against his as he returned her kiss for a moment before moving his lips to her ear.

"What happened to that shy girl from last night, yo?" he whispered in a teasing voice, making her giggle as he began nibbling on her earlobe.

"I'm sorry," Cera replied, still laughing. "Do you _want_ me to be shy?"

"No, babe," he assured her. "I think I like this new side of you."

She laughed again and Reno kissed her once more, groaning a bit as she started unbuttoning his shirt. Remembering Rude's warning, he quickly unfastened his belt and was just beginning to lower the zipper on his pants when a sharp knock echoed through the apartment from the front door, causing her to immediately back away from him like a teenage girl who had been caught by her father with a boy in her room.

"Who could that be?" she asked, her attention turned toward the doorway of the bedroom.

"Rude," Reno growled under his breath, releasing her and taking a step backward toward the door. "I'm gonna fucking kill him, yo," he complained as he continued out of the room and through the apartment, heading for the front door. "Letting me get all worked up right before dragging me out on assignment. Cruel bastard."

He didn't bother straightening his clothes as he made his way toward the door, wanting his partner to fully comprehend how pissed off he was at his horrible timing – intentional or otherwise. Growling in frustration, he grasped the doorknob as another knock sounded from the other side and threw back the locks before yanking open the door, fully ready to yell several well-chosen obscenities at the his partner.

When he opened the door, however, he found that Rude was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there stood a tall man with long dark hair, a tattered red cape, and a menacing sneer.

"V-Vincent," Reno stammered, running his hand back through his hair as he swallowed nervously. "What are you doing here?"

"I have come to see my daughter," Vincent replied in a low growl, pushing past Reno to enter the apartment. "What have you done with her?"

"Hey, man," Reno said, shutting the door before turning to him. "Don't take that tone with me, yo. It's not like I fucking kidnapped her or something."

"Where is she?" Vincent simply demanded, turning to glare at Reno, tossing his cape aside to show off the gun in its holster at his hip. "I won't ask again."

"In the bedroom," Reno replied with a lecherous smile. "Waiting for me."

Vincent lunged at him, grabbing him by the front of his shirt and slamming his back up against a wall. Reno winced slightly – he'd forgotten the old man was a lot stronger than he looked – then laughed. His mirth only caused Vincent's fury to grow, however, and he soon found the tip of a golden claw pressed firmly against the soft underside of his chin.

"What sort of perverted things have you been forcing her to do?" he asked through clenched teeth, his red eyes burning in anger.

"Nothing she didn't _want_ to do," Reno informed him, still smiling.

"Reno? What's going on out here?" Cera asked as she wandered into the living room, clutching the sheet from the bed around her protectively. She gasped when she saw her lover pinned to the wall by a strange man in a red cape and rushed over to them, grabbing the stranger's shoulder and attempting to pry him off.

"Let him go!" she ordered, letting out a small, frustrated whimper when he didn't budge. "What do you want with him?"

She hit the stranger as hard as she could in his shoulder, and Vincent turned his head slightly to look at her out of the corner of his eye.

"So it's true," he said quietly, almost as if he was talking to himself. "ShinRa really did rob you of your strength."

Cera took a step back, her brow furrowing in confusion. "How do you know about that? Who the hell _are_ you?"

Vincent turned to look at her fully, his grip on Reno slackening. Reno breathed a heavy sigh of relief as the clawed hand fell back down to his side, although he was still holding him up against the wall with the other hand. Cera continued to stare at the threatening man, still annoyed, but after a moment her countenance began to soften, a small gasp escaping her lips as realization finally set in.

"Vincent Valentine," she said quietly, answering her own question. "You... You're my father."

Vincent gave her the barest of nods, confirming what she had just said to be true, then spoke just as quietly. 

"Yes, I am... Which is why I need to beat the living hell out of this punk," he added angrily, returning his attention to Reno and bringing up his clawed hand once again.

"Stop it!" Cera ordered, the commanding tone causing both men to look at her. "I'm not a child, Vincent. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. Reno did nothing wrong. If he had, do you think I'd be standing here, practically naked, defending him?"

Vincent watched her carefully for a full minute, assessing the situation. Reno was the type of man to only be after one thing from a woman. In fact, it seemed he had been after that very thing when he had shown up at the apartment. The redhead's shirt was halfway unbuttoned, and his pants were _still_ hanging open, while his daughter was wearing nothing but a bed sheet. She looked so innocent and pure standing there, even though he knew the boy had already sullied her, and he simply didn't want to see her have to go through any more pain in her life on account of that recklessly philandering Turk.

"I love him, Vincent," she continued, sincerely, almost as if she was reading his mind. "He loves me, too. You can ask him yourself."

Vincent looked at Reno and found that his lecherous grin had been replaced with a genuinely loving smile. The shock of seeing such a look on the young man's face caused him to lose his grip on his shit, his hands falling limply at his sides.

"So it's true, then?" he asked, his gravelly voice holding only a fraction of the edge it had before.

"Yeah, man," Reno replied with a nod, going over to Cera and wrapping an arm around her waist. "I love her."

"If you ever do anything to hurt her..." Vincent threatened, pointing a clawed finger at him.

"Then feel free to beat the shit of of me, yo," Reno supplied with a laugh. "Or pop a few rounds from that fancy-ass gun of yours into me. Whatever'll make you feel better."

Vincent nodded slightly. He still wasn't very keen on the idea of his only child being involved with a Turk, especially _that_ Turk, but if she was happy then he supposed he had no choice but to tolerate her decision.

"Very well," he agreed after a moment. "But I am not about to leave so you can screw her. After all, I came here to see her."

"I kinda figured you wouldn't," Reno grumbled. "Just my damn luck. Don't even get to get laid before I gotta leave."

Vincent's hands balled into fists at his sides as Reno's last comment reached his ear. Cera smiled apologetically for his outburst, blushing slightly, then leaned over and kissed Reno's cheek, whispering in his ear.

"You're only making things worse, so just keep your mouth shut before he tries to kill you again, okay? I promise I'll make it up to you when you get back."

Reno grinned and kisses her, then released her and started fixing his clothes.

"Well, it's been fun, but Rude is probably waiting downstairs for me, so I guess I better get going, yo. You," he said, kissing Cera again, "stay beautiful. Vince," he addressed the other man, turning to him and giving him a salute. "See ya 'round, yo."

Winking at the two of them, he quickly fled out the front door of the apartment. He knew he probably had some time to spare before Rude really did arrive to pick him up, but he had been desperate to get out of there before Vincent got a chance to notice the hard-on he was getting from the suggestive words Cera had whispered into his ear. Chuckling to himself, he finished buckling his belt and made his way downstairs to meet his partner.


End file.
